Ella Enchanted: 2003
by Strawberry1
Summary: This is the story of Ella Enchanted set in modern times! Some things had to be changed, but the plot is the same! (I just had to add a prologue that has nothing to do with the original story so that my story makes sense.)
1. Cafeteria Lunch

Discaimer: I do not own the plot, characters, etc. I only based it in modern times and said things differently.  
  
Expostion: This story is the story of Ella, only in modern times! Instead of having an obedience curse, Ella is obedient so that she can do well in school and excel in life, but she is still rebellious in other aspects. (Curses don't fit into modern times.) Ella is rich, and goes to a small private high school, that the Prince also attends. They live in a small country called Kyrria. I know this sounds completely different then the book, but its really not, other than the prologue.  
  
This part doesn't fit in anywhere in the book, I just had to add it to make my story make sense!  
  
Prolouge:  
  
"Oh my god, Ella, look at him. He is so cute!" said my friend, Liz.  
  
I looked up from my pizza and French fries. Liz was looking over at a table where some juniors were sitting.  
  
"Who?" I asked. It was always a good idea to know who Liz's crush of the week was.  
  
"Him - Charles - over there," she replied, pointing to a boy with curly hair and tan skin.  
  
I looked at him. He was cute, but he was the prince of our country! Although Liz had a way with the boys, I doubt he would ever pay much attention to her. Plus, we were only lowly freshman, and he was a junior! I don't know why Liz got so obsessed over these boys.  
  
"Go over and talk to him," I dared her.  
  
"In the middle of the cafeteria? Never. You go talk to him," she replied.  
  
"Me? No!"  
  
"Come on! You aren't shy! He's alone in the lunch line. Just go get more pizza!" she urged me.  
  
"No!" I protested. "I'm not even interested in him. You are. And he's the prince!"  
  
"I knew you could never do it," she giggled.  
  
"Hey! I could do it! I could talk to him! And I will do it! Right now!" I stood up, grabbing my empty plate. I wanted to prove Liz wrong. Plus, if I made a complete fool of myself, Charles would probably just forget about me anyway. I got in line right behind him. He would have been soo much taller than me if I wasn't wearing my tall shoes. I had to think of something to say!  
  
"Uhhh..is there anymore pepperoni pizza?" I asked him. He didn't hear me. Of course not, I was too quiet. "Excuse me?" I said, louder this time. Charles turned around.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Is there anymore pepperoni pizza?" I asked again.  
  
"Uhhh..there should be." He replied. Well duh! I thought. They usually don't run out of food fourth period lunch. He probably thought I was just a dumb freshman girl. I had to defend myself.  
  
"Oh, I was just making sure, because sometimes they run out of stuff, and I really don't feel like eating pizza without pepperoni on it, and it would be such a waste of time to wait in line for something I don't want, you know?" I was babbling. I thought that he thought that I was just a weird freshman girl, but to my surprise, he laughed.  
  
"I don't think you have to worry," he assured me. I studied his face. He had freckles sprinkled across his nose. This was surprising for such dark skin. Then he asked the lunch lady for a piece of pepperoni pizza. We both liked pepperoni pizza! And he was the prince!  
  
After I got my piece, I sat back down with Liz. "Wow," I said, letting out a breath. "I said something! It was stupid, but it was something!"  
  
"Good job!" Liz congratulated me. "Today, junior boys, tomorrow, senior boys."  
  
"I don't think so," I laughed.  
  
.:~*~:.  
  
This is me. I hope you like it and its not too far fetched. I have the next chapter written, I just need some reviews before I post it, so I know if anything needs to be changed. I know that its is not likely that she would go to school with a prince, but just pretend that they live in a small, friendly country. Thanks for reading and please review! ( 


	2. Pneumonia

One day, my mother and I both became sick with pneumonia. Our cook and friend, Mandy told us that it was serious. Mandy seemed to know everything. She was old enough to.  
  
As my mother and I rested in my mother's bed, (my father was on a business trip,) I told my mother stories I had made up, my times from the last swim meet, recent quiz scores, and how student government was going. (I was the Vice President of the freshman class.) My mother listened, laughing at the funny parts. Mandy was downstairs making us a strange brown concoction.  
  
"Here," Mandy said, handing us a bottle of her thick liquid medicine when it was done. "Just two teaspoons will clear you up in no time. Oh! There's there oven buzzer!" She bustled down the stairs.  
  
My mother looked at the stuff. "I'm, not putting this stuff in my body," she said, handing it to me. I did not want to miss any school, so I faithfully shoveled two teaspoons of the medicine into my mouth. I doubted it would work, but it didn't taste too bad.  
  
In a couple of days, I felt all better, but my mother was even worse. She could not eat or drink anything. She said there was a knife in her throat and a battering ram at her head. I tended to her as best I could, telling her more stories and putting cool clothes on her head. Now when she laughed at my stories, her laughing would turn into coughing.  
  
The next day, she was even worse. She tossed and turned in her bed, delirious. She was rushed to the Kyrrian hospital, but despite the doctor's best efforts, she did not live.  
  
.:~*~:.  
  
I know this is short, but there is not much in this part of the book to begin with. I also know that you are all worried that this will be hard to write and that it will not work without her curse, but don't worry, I have it all worked out! Anyway, keep reviewing! I really appreciate the ones I already got. Thank you!! 


	3. Funerals and Princes

The High Chancellor Thomas was orating a long funeral speech for my mother, but I didn't want to listen to it. It was mostly about the royal family, anyway. I briefly thought of pepperoni pizza. Then I looked at the coffin. Tears streamed out of my eyes, and soon my face was wet. This was so sudden! Why did my mother, my friend, die? Now we could never talk again, or laugh together. Or swim in the River Lucarno. Or slide down the banister or play tricks on out servant, Bertha. Or a million things. It didn't seem real. It was a nightmare, and in the morning I would talk to my mother and everything would be all right. But it was real.  
  
Soon, my mother was lowered into the ground. It seemed like she was being packed away in a box. Some people stayed to mingle, but my father told to go away and come back only when I could stop crying. I was glad to get away. I ran. My tall black shoes made me lose my balance and fall, but before anybody could help me, I was off again, my knee and hand stinging.  
  
I saw a weeping willow and ran under it. I collapsed on the grass, sobbing. I knew my black dress would soon be dirty, but I didn't care.  
  
I sat there, under the tree, for a long time. When I felt a little better, I peeked outside of the tree. Charles was standing only a few feet away, reading a gravestone. He looked different than he did at school. More serious, like his father, the King.  
  
He saw me emerge from the tree. "Cousin of mine," he said, gesturing at the tombstone. "Never liked him. I liked your mother."  
  
Did he know my mother well?  
  
He started walking back to the parking lot. Should I follow him? I wasn't sure, so I walked next to him, only a great distance away. He came closer. It looked as if he had been crying, only he was not as obvious as I was about it.  
  
"You can call be Char," he said abruptly. "Everyone else does." I had heard his friends at school call him Char occasionally. I thought it was a strange nickname for Charles.  
  
After a silence, he added, "My father calls me Char too."  
  
The King! "I wasn't sure what to say, so I just said, "Thank you." I was glad that he wasn't mentioning the incident at the lunch line. He did talk about my mother a little, however. He also told me how he knew all about me, since our cooks talk in the market. If I had known that I would have never confronted him at lunch. Why had I done that? Especially to a prince.  
  
"Do you know anything about me?" he asked with a sideways glance.  
  
"No," I honestly replied. "What do you know about me?"  
  
"I know that you can imitate people just as your mother could. Once you imitated a servant to his face, and he wasn't sure whether he was the servant or you were. You make up stories and you drop things and trip over things. I know you once broke a whole set of dishes."  
  
"I slipped on ice!"  
  
"Ice cubes that you spilled before you slipped on them!" He laughed. It was a happy laugh, not a ridiculing one. I smiled, it felt good after so much crying.  
  
Soon, we reached my father, who was standing near our limo. You would imagine that I would have a close relationship with my father, especially since my mother had just passed away. This was not the case. My father was always away on business. He owned a large factory, and he was always trying to sell his products to other stores. He actually did pretty well.  
  
"Come, Eleanor," he said.  
  
"Dad! My name is Ella, not Eleanor!" I protested.  
  
"Okay, Ella. Please come Ella." He bowed to the prince and got into the car.  
  
Char tried to hand me into the car. I didn't know whether he wanted my hand or my elbow, so he ended up grabbing my somewhere in the middle of my arm, and I ended up sort of falling into the limo. Char closed the door, but my skirt got caught, and there was a loud ripping sound. My father winced. I looked out the window. Char was laughing again. I looked at my skirt, and found a gash near the bottom. Bertha, our head maid, would never be able to make it smooth.  
  
I arranged myself as far from my dad as possible. He was staring out the window.  
  
"A fine affair. All of Frell came, everyone who counts anyway," he said, as though my mom's funeral had been a dance or a party.  
  
"It wasn't fine. It was terrible," I said. How could Mom's funeral be fine?  
  
"The prince was nice to you."  
  
"He liked Mother."  
  
"Your mother was beautiful." His voice was sad and regretful. "I'm sorry she's dead."  
  
Nathan started the ignition, and the car began to move.  
  
.:~*~:.  
  
Thanks for your reviews! A lot of you want Ella to still have the curse, but I really can't do that. Can you imagine you or one of your friends having a fairy's curse of obedience? I'm sorry that I copied so many passages directly from the book, I will try not to do that in future chapters. I hope you like this! Next chapter it starts to get interesting, Hattie and Olive are coming! 


	4. Two Sisters

When we reached our manor, father told me to change into a clean dress. I ran upstairs to my room. I did not want anybody to see me in the dress I was wearing. It was all dirt-stained and ripped.  
  
I pushed open my heavy bedroom door and ran to my bed. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows. The weather did not match my mood. In movies, it always rains when something bad happens.  
  
My room looked just the same as it had when my mother was still living. The two comfy chairs were still under the two windows, the book case was next to them, overflowing with books. My bed with the flowered comforter was neatly made- thanks to Bertha, and the remote control rested on top of my television, which was turned off, making my room seem unusually quiet.  
  
I did not want to go back downstairs and see all of the guests. I wanted to stay in my peaceful room, my sanctuary. However, I did not want father to be mad at me, I was already too sad. I went over to my closet and pulled out another black dress. I was about to put it on when I changed my mind. Black was too depressing. I wanted to wear a happier dress. Everybody was too depressed as it was. My mother would have hated it. Instead, I put on my dress that my mother liked the best. She said the spicy green brought out the color in my eyes. I thought I looked like a grasshopper in it-a skinny, spiky grasshopper with a human head and straight hair. But at least it wasn't black.  
  
I went back downstairs to the great hall. It was inundated with people dressed in black, conversing with each other. My father came right to me, along with a rather large lady and two girls that I assumed were her daughters. The lady was wearing a tight black dress with a low neckline that looked like it was a couple sizes too small for her. She had pasty skin and two twin spots of rouge on each cheek, making her look like an obese china doll. She had curly hair that was done in an over-elaborate hair-do. Her eldest daughter was a smaller version of her, only without the rouge. The second daughter had an expressionless face and limp curls that looked like somebody had glued them to her head. Her dress did not fit her right. She was as bland as a peeled potato.  
  
"Here is my daughter, Eleanor," said my father, pushing me towards the lady. I was all of the sudden engulfed in two chubby arms, and I could barely breath.  
  
"My child! We feel for you, simply feel your pain!" said the lady, over exaggerating her vowels. I highly doubted they "felt my pain."  
  
"This is Dame Olga," said my father, gesturing at this ridiculous lady. "Are these your daughters?"  
  
"Yes, but of course! The two apples of my eyes! This is Hattie, and this is Olive. They are off to a special finishing school in a couple of weeks when summer vacation commences."  
  
Hattie was older than I, by about two years. "Nice to meet you," she said smiling, revealing two large front teeth. She seriously needed braces.  
  
"Me too," said Olive, who looked about my age. Her face made her look like she was permanently confused. She probably was.  
  
"Why don't you take these two lovely girls to your room?" my father asked me. I obliged, trying to be polite.  
  
As I led the way, I saw Hattie staring at everything in my house. Olive was just staring straight ahead.  
  
"My mother said you were wealthy, but I did not know you were this well off!" awed Hattie. "Is it true you go to Everford Private school, the same one that the prince attends?"  
  
"Umm.yes," I replied, blushing. We arrived at my room. As soon as we walked in, Olive set her eyes on the television.  
  
"Can I watch TV?" she asked.  
  
I was about to suggest doing something else, but Hattie interrupted me with a simple but sharp "No."  
  
"Look," I said, "There is not anything to do up here anyway, why don't we just go back downstairs? There is a buffet set up." Olive's face lit up.  
  
"Well," said Hattie, "We never eat at parties, on account of our small appetites, but our mother worries about us, so maybe just a little."  
  
I led them to the buffet. They ate more than just a little. Hattie piled her plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, honey ham, rice, salad, and cookies. Olive took even more, plus some raspberry tarts and deviled eggs. They ate with their plates held close to their faces, so they could eat the maximum amount of food in minimum time.  
  
I did not want to eat. I was too upset about my mother. Instead I looked at the floor. There was a beautiful carpet on the ground that I had never noticed before. Usually it was in my mother's study, but today it had been moved to the table. Stitched into it were hundreds of little flowers, and each flower was different. The colors were all vivid and it looked so real. I wondered where it came from.  
  
When Hattie and Olive were done eating, they left with their mother, and I went to see Mandy in the kitchen. She was muttering something about people eating like pigs.  
  
When she saw me, she asked, "Are you feeling better now?"  
  
"Yes, Mandy. Everybody liked your cooking, by the way." Mandy's cooking was the best I had ever tasted. She was probably the best cook in all of Kyrria. You could follow a recipe just the way she did, and it still wouldn't taste the same.  
  
"Umm.Mandy? I saw a really pretty rug in the dining room today. Where did it come from?"  
  
"Oh, that thing. I actually made it quite a while back."  
  
"You made it? Wow! I didn't know you make rugs." I was in awe.  
  
"Oh, yes, well I didn't really like doing it, it takes too long. I only made that one."  
  
"Mandy? How come you are so good at everything? I mean, your cooking is unbeatable, you make that medicine, and you made that rug! Why are you so perfect?"  
  
"Well," said Mandy, as if she was going to tell me something important. "Never mind, you wouldn't believe me."  
  
"What do you mean? Tell me! I will believe you!"  
  
"Well, I wasn't going to tell you for a while, but I might as well tell you now." I was getting anxious. She continued. "I come from a race of people that are not magical, but we, we, how do I explain this? We learn to be gifted. We can do things better than other people, we learn to. Other people can cook, but we can make the food even more delicious. Other people can do all sorts of art, but we can make it even more beautiful. Doctors can find cures and penicillin and vaccines, but our medicine is the best."  
  
At first I didn't believe her. But then I realized she was being perfectly honest. A thousand questions flooded my mind. "Can you do other things? What race is it? Where are the other people? How can you tell? Why did you let mother die?"  
  
"One at a time! I cannot tell you the name of my race, and I do not know where any others are at the moment, but the way you can tell is that we have small feet. Secondly, I tried to save your mother, but she didn't take the medicine. And by the time I found out, it was too late." A tear formed in the corner of my eye. "Thirdly," she continued, "We can do other things, for instance, our five senses are extremely sharp. Here is a shard of glass from the glass that you broke yesterday." She picked up a piece of glass the size of a grain of sand.  
  
I looked at my feet. "I have small feet," I said. "Am I gifted?"  
  
"You have some of the blood in you, but its not enough," She replied. "You can't learn."  
  
I collapsed onto a stool. Mandy was.gifted, and mother could have lived! It was too much for me to handle. Mandy came over to hug me. A tear landed on my shoulder. Mandy was crying too.  
  
.:~*~:.  
  
Well this is different, isn't it? Sorry this took so long to post! I went on vacation, and I was going to post this chapter the night before I left, but fanfiction wasn't working! Grrrr! It wasn't even working the next morning! Thank you for waiting! Thank you to all my reviewers, I appreciate it! Constructive criticism is very welcome!  
  
Char is definitely going to be a prince. Other countries have princes, don't they? Also, if this story seems formal, that might be because I can only write formally! I hope this chapter is long enough for you! Its my longest yet - 3 pages! Ok, not that big of a deal, but still! Thank you for reading! 


	5. Glasses and Gifts

Mandy hugged me for a long time. She wouldn't let go! Finally, Bertha came to the kitchen with a message from father.  
  
"Ella?" She called. "Your father would like to speak with you."  
  
I groaned. "Do I have to?" I really didn't like my father very much.  
  
"I think you should," said Mandy.  
  
"Fine!" I left the kitchen and found my father already sitting at the head of the dining room table.  
  
"Honestly!" he exclaimed. "Why are you always with that cook! You know we pay her to work alone, and there you are, cooking things, wearing your expensive new black mourning dress! When will you learn?"  
  
"Sorry," I mumbled, taking a seat near father.  
  
"How did you like Dame Olga's two daughters?"  
  
"Umm.ok," I lied.  
  
Father laughed. I didn't want to be laughed at, so I changed my mind.  
  
"I guess they didn't mean to act rude." I said.  
  
"I don't think that crossed their minds." Father said, still chuckling. "The older one is an unpleasant conniver and the younger is not very smart." He stopped laughing. He looked thoughtful. "Dame Olga is rich. She even has a title."  
  
Why does that matter? I wondered. "Maybe you could go to finishing school with them," my father said.  
  
"I don't think so," I said quickly before he got any ideas.  
  
"I will think about it," he told me.  
  
"Look what I have," he said changing the subject and taking something out from under the table. It was a many-faceted crystal wine glass. He poured some wine into the glass, and raised it towards the light. "See how it catches the light, Eleanor. It makes the wine sparkle like a garnet."  
  
It was beautiful. It made me want to try the wine, it looked so sweet. "May I have a sip?"  
  
"Of course, have you ever tasted wine?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well by all means, go ahead. You are already 15."  
  
I reached for the glass, but by accident my hand knocked it over. It fell to the ground and landed in two pieces, the stem and body.  
  
"You oaf!" He cried. "I was going to sell that on ebay! Do you know how much that could have gone for? Now it is worthless!"  
  
"Sorry," I muttered, feeling ashamed.  
  
"That won't put the glass back together, will it? This summer I am sending you to finishing school with Dame Olga's two children. That will teach you! Now leave! Eat in your room or something."  
  
I ran to my room. Finishing school during summer? With Hattie and Olive? How could he?  
  
I changed into my old pair of jeans and a big sweatshirt, but then changed my mind and put on my comfiest pajamas and crawled into bed. I reached for the remote and turned on the television, but I didn't really pay attention to it. I was lying down on my bed with my eyes closed when I heard a knock on my door. I hoped it was Mandy and not my dad.  
  
"Who is it?" I called.  
  
"Its me, dear." Phew, it was Mandy.  
  
"Come in!"  
  
She came in holding a tray filled with food and a plastic bag with something in it. She set the tray on my bed. There was tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, milk, and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I started devouring it all right away.  
  
"When are your final exams?" she asked me.  
  
"They start next week," I said with my mouth full. "One week of hard studying, one week of hard testing, and then I am free! At least I am free until I go to that stupid summer finishing school thing."  
  
"Don't worry about it," she assured me. "Just handle one thing at a time and don't stress out too much. You can handle it. Swim team is over, none of your school clubs are meeting anymore, and you really have no more duties as vice president until next year."  
  
I smiled at her.  
  
Once I slowed down eating she said, "I have two very important things for you."  
  
She put the plastic bag on my lap. The first thing I took out was a thick book. Great, very special. A book. It didn't even have a nice picture on the cover. Just a blank leather cover.  
  
"Umm...thanks," I said to Mandy.  
  
"Open it!" she said.  
  
I did. It was a book of fairy tales! My favorite. If anybody ever says that it is possible to grow out of fairy tales, they are absolutely wrong. Just take "The Princess Bride," for example. It's the best, and definitely not intended for elementary school children.  
  
"Thank you, Many!" I exclaimed, this time sincere. "I'll save it for finishing school so that the stories won't get boring."  
  
"I don't think you have to worry about that," she said, smiling.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Well, look how many stories there are, and look how thin the pages are and how small the writing is. It will take you a while to finish all the stories, and they are all excellent. My friend wrote it herself."  
  
"What is the second thing?" Mandy handed me a long box. Inside was a beautiful necklace that I had seen my mother wear often. It had a thin silver chain with a pear pendant. Tiny pearls seemed to be woven into the chain. I put it on.  
  
"It looks beautiful on you! Well, I had better go now," said Mandy, picking up the food tray. On her way out she turned off the light, and I fell asleep with my fingers curled around the necklace.  
  
.:~*~:.  
  
I tried to make this chapter a little more original. I took some exact quotes from the part with the wine glass.or goblet, as it is in the book. I had to raise the rating on this story from a G to PG, just to be careful. She almost drinks the wine! I don't know if this is necessary, but having it be rated G makes it seem more Disney-like, and I think Ella Enchanted is more sophisticated than that!  
  
Oh, and somebody asked me if I had ever read "The Wish." Let me tell you that I have read everything that Gail Carson Levine has written, with the exception of "Dave at Night." She is so talented to think of all that she writes!  
  
Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! Please give me more constructive criticism! Thank you again! ~Gwen 


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